Busted. Veronika sighed as she glanced over the sorry state of her armor, which was laid out across her bed. The room where she had woken in from the bomb diffusion was given to her as her temporary residency. Not that it mattered much to her since she was no stranger to being a wanderer.

  "An immortal cultivator's journey never sets stone to one pond." She sighed again as she recalled words she had said to herself when she had faced change over from sect life to another.

  At that time, she had barely turned 14 yrs old when her first teacher had picked her to be an outer disciple. Like most kids of her village, she had been a simple commoner from easy going parents.

  "Mother, father, seventh uncle, sorry." Pain welled within her heart as old emotions that had been locked within her soul were pressing themselves into her current consciousness.

  A whirlwind of traumatic memories of chaotic death at the hands of greedy, diabolical, immortal cultivators swept through her mind to stir tears to her eyes. At that time, when she had seen all her family and home that were dear to her burn within soul flames, she was yet to be renowned as the cultivator of the Light Sword. But that was in another age and universe: completely unrelated with the current world where she existed.

  "Yet, is it a coincidence that both worlds are Seria?" Veronika shook away her thoughts. There was no point dwelling on a past that didn't serve a purpose to present situations.

  "I need to reflect on my learnings and gain another level soon."

  She pushed aside her broken armor and sat crossed leg in the bed in nothing but her under shorts and gray t-shirt: her back upright and hands clasped before her in a prayer pose. She closed her eyes and began to focus inward toward her meridian network. Her hands moved in snap motions with stiff fingers, forming T and triangular symbols that would channel her spirit energy for better control.

  As she felt her blue spirit energy flow through her channels, an image of nervous and spirit network formed as a map in her inner vision. She saw blockage in one of her arteries near her lung system and another near her spleen.

  It was no wonder she was stuck at Level 1. If she didn't repair the damage, she would have a hard time with her cultivation. Especially, when it was obvious that becoming an immortal in another foreign universe ensured different rules to understand and overcome. Right now, she was still trying to understand what it meant to be a cultivator.

  There was System's leveling process that appeared to monitor combat skill and power. And having access to her Soul Library made it possible to bring over familiar skills. Yet, one thing was made clear with Small Cap's intrusion. The laws that foundered her Soul Library were altered by being in another universe. For starters, it shouldn't have been possible for another entity to breach her library. And yet, one was able to do so from a completely different star system: with full intention of doing so. So, it wasn't just being Veronika Shepherd: everything needed to be reconsidered and, mostly, relearned with the laws of the current universe. This fact truly sunk home.

  "What is life? What is learning? What is immortality?" So many questions she hadn't asked herself for ages were bombarding her mind, which began to impact the flow of her energy through her spirit network.

  She shook her head and refocused on her present situation, delving deeper into her meditation. Sweat broke over her body as she manipulated the energy and oxygen levels of her blood to massage the nerves around her damages, and alleviate the pain to allow for healing. When the wound areas were cleared from obstructions, she controlled the flow of her spirit energy to sweep away and burn the impurities and feed some into the damages to allow healing. More sweat covered her body, which became cold and clammy like going into a fever. But she had to finish her repairs otherwise, they wouldn't heal right. Using all her focus and energy she finished the process before passing out.

  "Shepherd"

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  Veronika slowly opened her eyes and saw Simone's face before her. The woman fed a pill into her mouth. A sweat and fruity taste melted into a liquid that slid down her throat to trigger a full body healing process. Fortunately, one that reinforced her own spirit energy restoration work.

  "Thank you." She weakly said as she accepted Simone's aid to sit up.

  Simone gasped and scanned Veronika's body. Her eyes widened with surprise.

  "Your body is free from internal wounds. I know my medicine is good, but it's the first time I see an instant restoration of your artery damages."

  Veronika chuckled. "What can I say, my body is immortal."

  Simone huffed. "Or you're a Blood Leech."

  "A what?"

  Simone perked up with a chance to give a scientific rundown of a humanoid within the forest region of the Expanse of the Lost. It was a creature similar to the vampire folk lores of Wu Chen's days, where they fed on warm-blooded animals to regenerate and survive. Unlike vampires, they had minimal intelligence and were more like rabid beasts.

  "Welp. A clone that is a blood leech, now that's something to add on to my most wanted sheet."

  The bubbly science girl laughed and changed the subject to why she was visiting.

  "Here. I noticed that your uniform was damaged. So, I present you a fresh set of clothes to blend in with the scenery." Simone stood up and held out a folded set of clothes before her.

  Veronika frowned at the pair of hard cotton khaki shorts, dark animal skin boots that ran up to the knees, leg, arm and waist belts and small pouches to match the boots. But the blouse was a bit too saucy for her liking.

  "Is this a shirt?" She held up at the one piece blouse that didn't look like it would cover much.

  Simone nodded jovially like it wasn't anything wrong to see a skimpy top dangling at Veronika's fingertip.

  "I'm not wearing this."

  "Why? The cloth is reinforced silver cotton that has been reinforced to withstand small laser blasts and electrokinetic slash attacks. And the lining contain mercury webbing that contain armor nanobots that activate a body force field for protection. Not to mention the floral blue and white is very feminine on the eyes." She added that it was fashion all Earthling woman wore.

  "Woman? Not clone?"

  Simone grinned. "Hurry up and dress. Then come down for dinner. Sustenance is needed for where body is in need of sustenance. And your body is definitely in need. Pills alone aren't enough to replenish the good stuff."

  Veronika sighed and got dressed in her new clothes. Indeed, the khaki shorts, belt pouches and sheaths strapped her things, waist and arm felt like a snug fit. Her legs were mostly concealed in her knee-high boots that were slightly elevated with spike heels to make her feel taller and, oddly, more balanced. Her blouse wasn't so bad covering most of her chest and upper stomach with a slinky feeling over the exposed part of her waist. The whole time she had peeled off her worn t-shirt, she had her eyes squeezed closed. Yes, she was a woman, and it wouldn't be considered a sin to see over her own body. But she had also been a man a lot longer, so was still a bit shy about seeing her womanly parts. Fortunately, she was able to don her gear with little troubles.

  She examined herself in the long mirror at one corner of her small room and nodded as she put on a long dark overcoat to cover most of her body. With a blue ribbon, she tied up her long hair in a simple, high, ponytail with her fringe sweeping freely across her forehead. It was the first time she noticed that her face was free from the small tubes that had been connected to her infiltration system. But somehow, she had long guessed that she hadn't needed to rely on them. And they had been available to ensure convenience.

  "When I cultivate to a Qi Condensation level, I won't need to worry about eating." She brushed off the thought and refocused on her look.

  "Well, despite it all I do look irresistible." She chuckled, feeling something of her old Wu Chen's rascal nature. Her eye caught the hand fan perched innocently on the dresser. She picked it up and flipped it open to slowly fan her face with exaggerated elegance.

  "Image complete."

  Veronika left her Concordat uniform on the bed as she strutted out of the room.